How to Care for Your Cat After Cataract Surgery

Even though cats do not often need cataract surgery, when they do require it, you need to know how to provide care for your cat after cataract surgery. The important thing to remember is that recognizing the symptoms of cataracts early will make it easier to reverse the problem. Cataracts in a cat's eye do not necessarily mean your cat will require cataract surgery and therefore, you may be able to avoid after cataract care for your cat.

How to Avoid Cataract Surgery for your Cat

Birman, Himalayan, Persian, or British Shorthair cats are more prone to cataracts. Diseases such as the leukemia virus, diabetes, toxoplasmosis, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline infectious peritonitis may also cause the onset of cataracts. You may be able to avoid having cataract surgery performed on your cat if the problem is small or the cataract is not interfering with your cat's vision. Even larger cataracts on cats can often be treated with medicine. If the cat's eye is punctured or it develops a medical condition of the eyes called congenital cat cataracts, then you may be looking at cataract surgery and caring for your pet after cataract surgery.

Risks Associated with Cats after Cataract Surgery

The risk factors are most prevalent in the first six hours after your cat has cataract surgery. The care after your cat has cataract surgery will be provided by the veterinary clinic where the surgery is performed with medications to prevent problems. One of these problems cats may incur includes a five percent risk of retinal detachment. Glaucoma, another complication that may occur after cataract surgery, can be treated with eye drops.

Caring for your Cat after Cataract Surgery
The care for your cat after cataract surgery will involve medication, protecting your cat from self inflicted injuries to the eye and post op re-checks. You cat will usually go home with you the next day after their surgery. Part of the caring for your cat after cataract surgery, which the clinic will provide, is checking intraocular pressures. They will also check for inflammation and cornea ulcerations as well as provide treatment for any problems, which arise.

If everything goes well within the first 24 hours of caring for your cat after cataract surgery, your cat will go home in an Elizabethan collar. During the first two weeks after your cat had cataract surgery, you will be required to keep this collar on your cat at all times as well as applying medications four times per day for the first week. Another part of taking care of your cat after cataract surgery will include antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. The third portion of the taking care of your cat after cataract surgery will include several checkups starting two weeks after the cataract surgery and continuing over a six month period.

Kate Rieger/ http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/cat-eye-care-diagnosing-cataracts-as-part-of-your-cat-eye-care-program-324318.html/ Article Base